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Entry tags:
October [OTP23]
Title: Glorious Revenge
Fandom: Temeraire
Characters/Ship: Laurence/Tharkay, Laurence & Temeraire & Tharkay
Word count: ~1k words
Summary: Modern-day with dragons AU. Temeraire wants a couple's costume, Will wants clothing he can move his limbs in, and Tenzing wants to be far enough away to take mocking pictures and laugh. 1/3 isn't too bad, is it?
Notes: The prompts for October: couples costume | text messaging | identity shenanigans | you can't bench me! | lightning | sports team AU. ...Okay, I don't really meet the sports one, but I'm claiming it on a throwaway line and a technicality.
Some are fortunate enough to have in their lives trust-fall friends; those people they can turn to for anything in total faith. These friends offer shoulders to cry on, coffees when the sun rises too quickly, and advice and support through adversary.
Today, Tenzing really regrets being Will’s trust-fall friend.
The text reads, He wants to wear a couple’s costume.
Why couldn’t it be a mysteriously dead body emergency? Tenzing could be in Inverness-shire with a shovel at the ready in fewer than 24 hours.
To be clear, Tenzing responds despite himself, we are still talking about Temeraire?
His phone lights up with a response before he’s able to set it aside. Yes. He told me he would take care of the details.
Tenzing considers his options carefully. Finally, he replies, Have fun
:(
Poor Will. It isn’t often that he falls low enough to deign to use emoticons. He must be truly concerned at what Temeraire might be planning.
Tenzing texts back :) and puts his silenced phone in a drawer.
On October 29, 1814, dragons won the right to vote in what was then the extended British empire. In the modern UK and in many current and former members of the Common Wealth, that day is still celebrated as one of the first major civil rights victories for British dragons, and there are parades and costumes and commemorative coins galore through the entire month of October.
Of course, as one of the most notable and well-known MPs in office, Temeraire is front and centre in all of the fuss. And as Temeraire’s companion, Will is also front and centre, and he must face the return of the yearly headlines wondering how A Mere Football Player (journalists in these cases always seem to forget that Will, the wealthy son of a wealthy earl, is hardly a Cinderella story) managed to bag himself a place at the side of the most celebrated dragon of their time. Now that Will has finally retired, no doubt the headlines will be even more pointed.
Temeraire likely wants to invoke the hallowed tradition of Couples Costumes in order to demonstrate his unshakeable support to and from Will, but the reality of draconic costuming options means that the shared elements of their “costume” will likely involve immense amounts of priceless heirloom jewellery. Perhaps not the best way to convince the world that Laurence isn’t Temeraire’s sugar baby, but Tenzing has nothing to say on that matter beyond additional contributions of :).
Throughout September, Tenzing gets an onslaught of tired and resigned texts from Will and vague-but-delighted texts from Temeraire, the latter of which are sometimes nearly illegible when, in his excitement, he speaks too loudly for even his dragon-calibrated voice-to-text app to pick up.
In response, Tenzing sends Will a carefully curated rotation of thumbs up and heart-eyed emojis when Will sends photos of Temeraire’s designs, and he sends Temeraire his own humble opinions on fashion, such as, No, I don’t think gold braid will ever go out of style.
All told, he is feeling rather calm about the whole situation when he gets off the train at Loch Laggan station and sees that Will, total sap that he has, has come out to meet him.
Even the romantic side of their relationship is old news now, but there’s still a shyness to their intimacy after a long stretch apart, and rather than a swooning Hollywood kiss, Will greets him with a warm grip to his shoulders and lingering eyes. It’s enough to make Tenzing giddy, and he ducks his head to hide his smile as Will leads him to the car.
They get home to find the house in disarray, with Temeraire’s army of assistants running to and fro carrying worryingly large boxes.
“Tharkay, you’re home!” calls Temeraire’s voice. “Come to my outdoor pavilion—the costume’s came out better than I expected!”
Will droops at his side, so Tenzing drops his luggage and claps Will on the shoulder in his ongoing show of faux commiseration. “You’ll have more sparkle than the brightest star in the sky,” he tells Will as they cut through their back door to join Temeraire.
“Oh, I do hope so,” says Temeraire as Will scowls at Tenzing balefully. “Please, come see for yourselves!”
Temeraire is indeed a sight to behold, even crouched as he is between tiered workstations where his assistants are adjusting the fit of his glittering headpiece and the drape of his acres-long cape. There is indeed copious application of gold braid, but he is also wearing a massive, feathered masquerade mask inlaid with gemstones.
Will seems a little too pale and shaky to speak immediately, and so Tenzing is the first to share his compliments. “Very elegant,” he says, and, because he suspects he doesn’t want to know the highly technical answer to his real question, which is “How did you manage to find feathers in that size?” he instead asks, “Could you remind me of your inspiration?”
Temeraire puffs up his chest, causing several of his assistants to curse out loud. “Of course, I will be going as the dragon Temeraire—he was my namesake, you know—and Laurence will be going as his captain. As you know, without their efforts, Britain’s dragons would likely still be considered mindless beasts of war. Their work really was instrumental in unravelling centuries of misinformation against dragons.”
“Very admirable choice,” Tenzing agrees. There are portraits of the famous duo, but Tenzing can’t see a thread of connection between the stiff, bottle-green uniform of the historic aviators and the richly embroidered fabric adorning Temeraire now—except, of course, that they can be both considered green.
“Charming,” Will manages to croak out, and Temeraire preens.
“But you haven’t seen the best part!” Temeraire realises abruptly. “Come see yours!”
And so Tenzing gently steers Will forward to where a neglected garment bag is hanging. It seems rather underwhelming after observing the sheer size of Temeraire’s accessories, but only until the bag is unzipped to reveal a costume that, though it still doesn’t bear much resemblance to any military uniform Tenzing has ever seen, nevertheless does share a great deal of overlap with Temeraire’s version.
“...Charming,” Will says again, sounding faint. Tenzing helpfully fans at Will’s face. When he’s swatted away, he turns instead to digging through the contents of the garment bag more closely.
“Temeraire,” he calls. “Have you ordered everything in duplicate? Were you worried the sizes were off, or that something might be damaged?”
Temeraire looks at him in surprise. “Oh, no. Perhaps I should have done, though… What if something does get damaged?” Will looks ready to pull out a knife then and there, so Tenzing places a gently restraining hand on his arm. “But no, Tharkay—that one is yours.”
Will’s head snaps up at that, and Tenzing freezes. “Ah,” he says. “How very thoughtful of you, Temeraire.”
Will is not typically the sort of person who sends a text when he can simply walk down the hall to say his thoughts out loud, but this time, he seems to believe the situation is worth making an exception.
Will has put his own phone down and is turning out their bedside light when Tenzing’s phone lights up with a new message.
It reads, :).
Fandom: Temeraire
Characters/Ship: Laurence/Tharkay, Laurence & Temeraire & Tharkay
Word count: ~1k words
Summary: Modern-day with dragons AU. Temeraire wants a couple's costume, Will wants clothing he can move his limbs in, and Tenzing wants to be far enough away to take mocking pictures and laugh. 1/3 isn't too bad, is it?
Notes: The prompts for October: couples costume | text messaging | identity shenanigans | you can't bench me! | lightning | sports team AU. ...Okay, I don't really meet the sports one, but I'm claiming it on a throwaway line and a technicality.
Some are fortunate enough to have in their lives trust-fall friends; those people they can turn to for anything in total faith. These friends offer shoulders to cry on, coffees when the sun rises too quickly, and advice and support through adversary.
Today, Tenzing really regrets being Will’s trust-fall friend.
The text reads, He wants to wear a couple’s costume.
Why couldn’t it be a mysteriously dead body emergency? Tenzing could be in Inverness-shire with a shovel at the ready in fewer than 24 hours.
To be clear, Tenzing responds despite himself, we are still talking about Temeraire?
His phone lights up with a response before he’s able to set it aside. Yes. He told me he would take care of the details.
Tenzing considers his options carefully. Finally, he replies, Have fun
:(
Poor Will. It isn’t often that he falls low enough to deign to use emoticons. He must be truly concerned at what Temeraire might be planning.
Tenzing texts back :) and puts his silenced phone in a drawer.
On October 29, 1814, dragons won the right to vote in what was then the extended British empire. In the modern UK and in many current and former members of the Common Wealth, that day is still celebrated as one of the first major civil rights victories for British dragons, and there are parades and costumes and commemorative coins galore through the entire month of October.
Of course, as one of the most notable and well-known MPs in office, Temeraire is front and centre in all of the fuss. And as Temeraire’s companion, Will is also front and centre, and he must face the return of the yearly headlines wondering how A Mere Football Player (journalists in these cases always seem to forget that Will, the wealthy son of a wealthy earl, is hardly a Cinderella story) managed to bag himself a place at the side of the most celebrated dragon of their time. Now that Will has finally retired, no doubt the headlines will be even more pointed.
Temeraire likely wants to invoke the hallowed tradition of Couples Costumes in order to demonstrate his unshakeable support to and from Will, but the reality of draconic costuming options means that the shared elements of their “costume” will likely involve immense amounts of priceless heirloom jewellery. Perhaps not the best way to convince the world that Laurence isn’t Temeraire’s sugar baby, but Tenzing has nothing to say on that matter beyond additional contributions of :).
Throughout September, Tenzing gets an onslaught of tired and resigned texts from Will and vague-but-delighted texts from Temeraire, the latter of which are sometimes nearly illegible when, in his excitement, he speaks too loudly for even his dragon-calibrated voice-to-text app to pick up.
In response, Tenzing sends Will a carefully curated rotation of thumbs up and heart-eyed emojis when Will sends photos of Temeraire’s designs, and he sends Temeraire his own humble opinions on fashion, such as, No, I don’t think gold braid will ever go out of style.
All told, he is feeling rather calm about the whole situation when he gets off the train at Loch Laggan station and sees that Will, total sap that he has, has come out to meet him.
Even the romantic side of their relationship is old news now, but there’s still a shyness to their intimacy after a long stretch apart, and rather than a swooning Hollywood kiss, Will greets him with a warm grip to his shoulders and lingering eyes. It’s enough to make Tenzing giddy, and he ducks his head to hide his smile as Will leads him to the car.
They get home to find the house in disarray, with Temeraire’s army of assistants running to and fro carrying worryingly large boxes.
“Tharkay, you’re home!” calls Temeraire’s voice. “Come to my outdoor pavilion—the costume’s came out better than I expected!”
Will droops at his side, so Tenzing drops his luggage and claps Will on the shoulder in his ongoing show of faux commiseration. “You’ll have more sparkle than the brightest star in the sky,” he tells Will as they cut through their back door to join Temeraire.
“Oh, I do hope so,” says Temeraire as Will scowls at Tenzing balefully. “Please, come see for yourselves!”
Temeraire is indeed a sight to behold, even crouched as he is between tiered workstations where his assistants are adjusting the fit of his glittering headpiece and the drape of his acres-long cape. There is indeed copious application of gold braid, but he is also wearing a massive, feathered masquerade mask inlaid with gemstones.
Will seems a little too pale and shaky to speak immediately, and so Tenzing is the first to share his compliments. “Very elegant,” he says, and, because he suspects he doesn’t want to know the highly technical answer to his real question, which is “How did you manage to find feathers in that size?” he instead asks, “Could you remind me of your inspiration?”
Temeraire puffs up his chest, causing several of his assistants to curse out loud. “Of course, I will be going as the dragon Temeraire—he was my namesake, you know—and Laurence will be going as his captain. As you know, without their efforts, Britain’s dragons would likely still be considered mindless beasts of war. Their work really was instrumental in unravelling centuries of misinformation against dragons.”
“Very admirable choice,” Tenzing agrees. There are portraits of the famous duo, but Tenzing can’t see a thread of connection between the stiff, bottle-green uniform of the historic aviators and the richly embroidered fabric adorning Temeraire now—except, of course, that they can be both considered green.
“Charming,” Will manages to croak out, and Temeraire preens.
“But you haven’t seen the best part!” Temeraire realises abruptly. “Come see yours!”
And so Tenzing gently steers Will forward to where a neglected garment bag is hanging. It seems rather underwhelming after observing the sheer size of Temeraire’s accessories, but only until the bag is unzipped to reveal a costume that, though it still doesn’t bear much resemblance to any military uniform Tenzing has ever seen, nevertheless does share a great deal of overlap with Temeraire’s version.
“...Charming,” Will says again, sounding faint. Tenzing helpfully fans at Will’s face. When he’s swatted away, he turns instead to digging through the contents of the garment bag more closely.
“Temeraire,” he calls. “Have you ordered everything in duplicate? Were you worried the sizes were off, or that something might be damaged?”
Temeraire looks at him in surprise. “Oh, no. Perhaps I should have done, though… What if something does get damaged?” Will looks ready to pull out a knife then and there, so Tenzing places a gently restraining hand on his arm. “But no, Tharkay—that one is yours.”
Will’s head snaps up at that, and Tenzing freezes. “Ah,” he says. “How very thoughtful of you, Temeraire.”
Will is not typically the sort of person who sends a text when he can simply walk down the hall to say his thoughts out loud, but this time, he seems to believe the situation is worth making an exception.
Will has put his own phone down and is turning out their bedside light when Tenzing’s phone lights up with a new message.
It reads, :).